Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method of formatting media files, and more particularly to a method of formatting media files such that a user can build custom media presentations from a plurality of media clips according to parameters specified by the user.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Sawyer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,971, discloses a method for establishing an electronic picture file composed of a plurality of individual pictures stored on several disks. The method uses an editing procedure that is controlled by a plurality of attributes selected by the user. First, the user assigns a category to each picture. The user then has the option of specifying picture order, time allotted for viewing each picture and text to accompany each picture. The system generates an electronic picture file that is organized according to these parameters.
Richards, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,172, discloses a method of storing multimedia clips xe2x80x9cuser information itemsxe2x80x9d) broken by inserted xe2x80x9cselection points.xe2x80x9d A reproducing apparatus then reproduces the multimedia clips and allows the user to direct the course of the multimedia presentation by his or her responses at the selection points. Each selection point is capable of directing the multimedia presentation to a plurality of different multimedia clips.
Beitel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,423, discloses a computer/software system which enables a user to produce and display an audio/visual application using a library of image, audio and story objects.
Drake, U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,966, discloses an automated presentation capture system that captures and stores audio/video/presentation inputs and stores them in a database.
Gustman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,495, discloses cataloging multimedia data by labeling the different xe2x80x9celementsxe2x80x9d or pieces of each stream of media (audio, video, etc.) and associating keywords with each element. This data can be organized in a database and searched for the purpose of locating a specific element of multimedia.
Beitel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,758, discloses a user/PC interface system which enables the creation and performance of a synchronized audio/visual story on the PC. The system plays an audio presentation; and the audio presentation includes xe2x80x9clabelsxe2x80x9d that, when played, trigger the generation of video images. Since the video images are displayed when triggered by the xe2x80x9clabelxe2x80x9d, the entire presentation is synchronized.
Etra, U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,334, discloses a video image bank system for preparing an edit tape and associated edit list from a library of stock video image sequences.
Isadore-Barreca, U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,262. discloses an interactive video creation method for constructing an interactive video interface having a primary video layer, a library layer and a resource data base layer.
Ettlinger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,994, discloses a video-taped-based editing system that uses a plurality of video recorders and a computer-based operator""s console to allow easier editing.
Pooser, U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,134, discloses a 3-D display of the contents of a database. The 3-D display provides a user with both the xe2x80x9cpositionxe2x80x9d and relationships of the information unit being examined relative to the remainder of the database, as well as the information regarding the overall size and complexity of the database.
Nunally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,235, discloses techniques for storing video in a database and analyzing the video image data in order to detect significant features of the images. This system is useful for analyzing the videos produced by surveillance cameras to detect intruders.
The prior art teaches various methods of ordering media files. However, the prior art does not teach a method of formatting that allows a user to build a custom media presentation according to parameters specified by the user. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides a method of formatting at least one media file, the formatting allowing a user to build a custom media presentation according to parameters specified by the user. According to the method, a plurality of media clips are first defined from the at least one media file. At least two media selection parameters are then defined, each of the at least two media selection parameters having at least one of a plurality of media descriptions. Each of the plurality of media clips is then associated with at least one of the plurality of media descriptions. Once the at least one media file has been properly formatted, desired media parameters are received from the user. The method then teaches selecting a plurality of suitable media clips that are associated with the desired media descriptions, and playing the plurality of suitable media clips.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method of formatting at least one media file having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a method of formatting at least one media file that allows a professional to organize and classify material so that a user can utilize a goal seeking search engine to create custom media presentations that meet the requirements of the user.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.